The invention relates to a shovel particularly useful for snow removal. The shovel is characterized by dual ground contacting edges allowing the shovel to be self-supporting and which allows the shovel to be used in an ergonomically efficient manner for removing snow from a surface.
Snow removal shovels are well known. Various types of shovels have been used and developed over the years for particular uses or applications. For example, shovels having specialized handles and blades have been developed for lifting snow whereas other shovels have specifically been developed for pushing or plowing snow. In other shovels, particular aspects of the handles or blades have been designed in an attempt to improve the ergonomics and/or efficiencies of using the shovel.
While particular shovels have been designed with improved ergonomics and/or efficiencies of use, for particular applications, such as the clearing of walkways or driveways, shovels have not always enabled ergonomically efficient methodologies for the clearing of snow from a surface. In particular, past shovels have required either the lifting of a snow-laden shovel from the surface and carrying or throwing the snow away or pushing the snow in a manner that is ergonomically inefficient. These inefficiencies are particularly relevant to physically weaker persons, such as the elderly, who as a result of these inefficiencies may cause harm to themselves through the use of a shovel thereby giving themselves back problems, muscle strains or increasing the risk of heart attack through over-exertion. Such risks of harm may cause these people to be hesitant to make the effort to clear snow from their driveways or walkways which may lead to dangerous accumulations of snow and the resulting risk of slip and fall injuries.
Furthermore, past shovels are not self-supporting during non-use. That is, in order for a user to retrieve a shovel for use that is lying flat on the ground requires the user to bend over to lift the shovel or, alternatively retrieve the shovel from against a wall that the shovel may have been leaned against. Similarly, after use, past shovels must be returned to a supporting wall and carefully balanced against the wall or allowed to drop to the ground. Leaning shovels against a wall is often unstable with the result that the shovel may slip causing other shovels or similarly positioned implements to crash to the floor of a garage, shed or storage room. This is not only inconvenient but may also result in damage to cars or other stored equipment.
Still further, in snowy regions, shovels are often jammed into a snowbank by a user in order to support the shovel during or after use. Very often, the shovel will fall over and become lost beneath new snow as it falls thereby increasing the risk of damage by a vehicle running it over or simply inconveniencing a user by it not being available when needed.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a shovel which allows for the pushing of snow in an ergonomically efficient manner and which is self-supporting.
Examples of past shovels which provide various operational features are described. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,548 discloses a manually operable combination shovel and plow; U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,808 discloses an adjustable angle snow plow; U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,153 discloses a combination snow shovel and plow tool; U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,181 discloses a snow shovel having a diagonal curve; U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,993 discloses a snow shovel having an adjustable blade; U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,769 discloses a combination snow shovel and plow; U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,769 discloses a shovel having shovel and plow characteristics and; U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,328 discloses a snow plow having adjustable blades. In particular, none of the devices described in these patents is self-supporting.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a shovel comprising:
a blade having first and second ground contacting edges;
a handle operatively connected to the blade
wherein the handle and blade allow pushing operation of the shovel with either of the first or second ground contacting edges in contact with the ground.
In a more specific embodiment, the invention provides a self-supporting shovel comprising:
a blade having first and second ground contacting edges and any one of or a combination of a semi-circular, semi-elliptical -or parabolic cross-section;
a handle operatively connected to and angled with respect to the blade
wherein the handle and blade allow pushing operation of the shovel with either of the first or second ground contacting edges in contact with the ground.